Thursday, September 30, 2010

Gatlinburg, TN

Travel day today. We drove from Louisville, KY to Gatlinburg, TN a distance of a little under 300 miles. It was a beautiful day from driving, clear and sunny most of the way with temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s.

We traveled through the Kentucky Blue grass region around Lexington and into the hills and low mountains that are part of the Appalachian mountains.

We made a stop in Brea, Ky, first at the Kentucky Artesian store on the North edge of Brea, just off the interstate.

They had some really interesting a beautiful items from crafters and artists around the state. Sorry no pictures from the inside, but I didn’t feel it was right to take pictures of someone else's work that was for sale. If you are in the area, it is well worth the stop to visit the shop.

From there we drove into Brea where we passed a middle school with an interesting roof.

And then on into town where we ate lunch at the Boone Tavern.

This is actually a hotel that was built in 1907 and is part of Brea College. It is also on the National Register of Historical Buildings. It is run by the college but the students work there and can be part of their education on hotel management. The food is wonderful, with their specialty being Spoon Bread. It is hard to describe in words but is really yummy. You have to try it sometime, It is served to the tables as a replacement for the basket of rolls served at most restaurants.

From there we continued our journey South toward Tennessee and Gatlinburg. The countryside is rolling to hilly and beautiful. Typical of the area the distant hills/mountains are often in a haze and have a blue cast. Hence the name of Smoky Mountains.

It was in this part of our trip we started to see Kudzu.

In the southeast US you see this everywhere. It is a leafy vine that literally overgrows everything. As you can see from the picture, it will cover full grown trees, power poles, etc. It is fun to see, but I gather a real menace to land owners.

In Gatlinburg, we met up with Jill and Scott, Katie’s cousin and husband. We will be traveling together for the next week or so as we travel through North and South Carolina.

Our motel is very close to downtown Gatlinburg and is along a stream. We have a balcony with a view of the stream. Very pretty.

We walked through town a little bit to take in the sights. We weren’t to sure about the outlet store for jerky. I guess our thought is that outlet stores are for things that are out of style or have some small defect. Would you but jerky from an outlet store? I am sure it is really good!

Some additional street scenes from Downtown Gatlinburg

We ate at Lineberger’s Seafood Co. A nice restaurant with excellent food.

On the menu tonight was Broiled Grouper and Scallops. Very tasty.

Tomorrow we are taking a leisurely drive to Asheville, NC. We will be doing part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. With the weather forecast to be clear and pleasant, it should be a good day for sightseeing. More tomorrow night from Asheville.